Violence escalates during Thailand protests

Thai troops have reportedly fired repeatedly into the air in Bangkok after anti-government protesters torched a bus at a main junction, forcing the demonstrators to pull back. When troops tried to put the bus blaze out with a water cannon, the protesters threw a volley of five or six fire-bombs at them, and the soldiers advanced in response to that. The clashes, two days after protesters forced a cancellation of an Asian summit, have undermined confidence in the government and dealt another blow to the image of an economy already reeling from last year's political chaos and the global financial crisis. Prinn Panitchpakdi, a CLSA Asia-Pacific analyst, said: "I believe the darkest days in Thailand's history are yet to come, as we see no swift solution to ongoing divisiveness." A number of protesters have been arrested, said Army spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd. Mr Sansern said the fracas began when troops in vehicles with loudspeakers asked the red-shirted protesters to lift a blockade they have maintained for days at Din Daeng junction. Protesters had commandeered an LPG tanker near the junction and used six public buses to create the roadblock. One protester said: "We won't leave. We want real democracy. We're not scared of the army."

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ITN | April 13, 2009

Tags:. .lpg. .loudspeakers. .roadblock. .blockade. .undermined